When You Wish Upon a Star
by AssortedScribbler
Summary: Albus is pacing, as usual, when he catches sight of a star. His wish seems impossible, but is it? MMAD.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the song, mores the pity.

**A/N: **I found this on my computer a little while ago and finally got around to finishing it! It's been sitting on my hard-drive for ages, half-written. I came up with this while listening to Disney CDs so excuse me if it's a little bit of sickly fluff, but in my opinion, life would be nothing without a bit of fluff every now and then! I think someone else wrote a Wish Upon a Star fic a while back, if they did, I did not mean to steal the idea, like I said, it's been unfinished for months. As always, I'd love to know what you think! Please please please drop me a review!

**Summary:** Albus is pacing, as usual, when he catches sight of a star. His wish seems impossible, but is it? MMAD.

**When You Wish Upon a Star**

**The MMAD Way**

_When you wish upon a star_

_Makes no difference who you are_

Albus sighed again and turned once more to pace the furthest length of his office he could make. It was some time past midnight but his mind was very much alive and would not let him sleep. His thoughts were flying around his head, desperate to be heard, and he could guarantee all of them featured a certain very beautiful woman in his employ. One Minerva McGonagall. Oh, how she had be-witched him! He dreamed about her, he had been wishing for Merlin knew how long for the courage to be able to just _tell_ her how he felt, how long he had felt this but never had his wish been granted. Yet.

Swinging around again as he came close to the wall he had been marching towards, he pressed his palms together and shook his head, wandering over to his window with very little conviction in his step. His heart ached with the hole loving her made. It made him miserable sometimes. Sometimes, it even became an actual physical pain inside him. But… he could never say anything for what if she rejected him? He didn't think he could manage the crack it would create inside him. The worst thought of all was she might even leave, just to avoid the awkwardness of seeing him every day. That was most definitely something he could not bear, would not ever be able to bear.

He reached his window, and leant his forehead against the pleasantly cool glass, closing his eyes briefly before letting them sweep the sky as he used to do when he was much younger. He had loved watching the stars. Not many people knew he was an astronomer as well as an alchemist, and that was the way he wanted it. Then there was no expectancy that he would make another discovery or some other such nonsense. Sometimes, he just wanted to be like everyone else. He wanted to be able to risk his heart for the woman he loved, openly without having to think of the consequences.

_Anything your heart desires_

_Will come to you_

His eyes again swept the skies, searching for this constellation, then the next, he knew them all. He found Sirius, he found Andromeda, and then he found his favourite, Phoenix. Although it didn't really look very much like a phoenix, he still loved it. Fawkes had come to him in November, then this formation was visible, and Albus had never forgotten to thank those stars for his beloved friend. Much as Minerva had come to him, many years later on a miserable November night, to answer his advertisement for a new Transfiguration teacher.

She had been late in replying, but when he had finally got her appliance, he had nearly sung for joy. She was the only one he knew could take the post, and the only reason she had been delayed was she had been living in Italy to conduct some research on the field she was to take over. She had not heard about the position until a friend had owled her about it, and he could only be very grateful to that friend. She had been completely and utterly perfect for the post, even when he had only read about her, and when he had met her… He had been blown away.

Of course, he had not let his personal attraction affect his decision; she was most definitely the best person for the job. But perhaps even then the seeds of love had already been planted in his heart because he had not been able to help himself when they had finished, and he had delivered the news, he had taken her hand in what he had originally intended to be a handshake but instead he surprised himself and her by bringing it up to his lips and kissing it gently and tenderly. Her face had very quickly showed surprise and a small amount of pleasure before it was smoothed away into her neutral expression, despite the small hint of a blush tingeing her cheeks. He knew now that was when he had fallen, and she had become the one woman he loved more than any other in that moment. That love had only grown over the years they had worked together. Now, he didn't think there was anything he wouldn't give to make her happy.

_If your heart is in your dream_

_No request is too extreme_

He had not apologised, thinking it was not needed, and she smiled a small smile before sliding her hand from his hesitantly, almost as if she knew how much he wanted it to stay there. He remembered the softness of her skin, the light scent of her skin left on his, as if it had only happened yesterday. He had of course done the same thing many times since, had even ventured upon a very joyous occasion to kiss her cheek but never had he crossed the line. How he hated that line, wished to sweep it away and sweep her up in his arms. Alas, he could only toe the line very carefully, and though he had thought there were times when he would fall over it; she had never allowed it and so neither had he.

She was so enticing, to the point where he could sit for a full ten minutes merely watching her and not notice he hadn't finished any of the papers he was suppose to have done. That was until she looked up and realised he had not done what he was supposed to and she would make a dry remark about Albus perhaps one day inventing a pen to do this sort of thing for him, so he could sit and stare at thin air all day if he wished. That would get his attention and he would blush a little while re-directing his gaze back at the work in front of him. 'Thin air my foot', he always thought, she must have realised he was staring at her. Perhaps she didn't want to mention it out of respect for his feelings.

Oh how he wanted so much to be the one who held her at night, who tipped her mouth to his, who whispered inappropriate things to her in secret. He wanted to see her blush and giggle. He wanted to discover what she was like when not bound by the rules that held his tongue from speaking as he wished to her. He wished with all his heart that it was possible for all those things to happen, but his mind told him they were not. His eyes traced the outline of the phoenix in the night sky, his eyes loosing a little of their twinkle. November had always been a good month for him, it had brought her and Fawkes to him, and it was then that he had defeated Grindlewald but… He couldn't see this November living up to the others that had gone before it. There was nothing left for him to gain.

Sometimes, he loved her so much it really did ache.

_When you wish upon a star_

_As dreamers do_

Closing his eyes, he wondered what there was left for him. Hogwarts was really the only place he had ever called home, he had never had anything like a family, had never had the children he had so wanted. Teaching Harry had been a major part of his life, and perhaps had made up for, in part, what he had missed out on, but now that was finished as well, and Voldemort was dead, it seemed he had wasted his life on the one thing he had always hated the most of all: War. Minerva was the one he had fought for in part, but the rest of the world as well, he supposed factored in as a motive. Had killing become that important to him? Killing one man?

Albus couldn't help the small tear that slipped from under his now closed eyelids, and it ran down his cheek meekly, while he dropped his head and leant against the stone surrounding his window. He had wanted so much to just get past the reign of terror Tom Riddle had taken it upon himself to create; now he was past it, what was there? Everyone else seemed to be moving on, doing what they'd dreamed of doing, what did he want to do? Right now, all he wanted to do was stop thinking and drown in oblivion. But he knew his thoughts were still not willing to stay silent long enough for that to happen. They seemed determined to keep him awake tonight.

Another tear slipped out of his weary eyes, but this time it ran along his nose because his face was towards the floor. Minerva was such an amazing woman, and he loved her with every fibre of his being. She picked up his pieces and somehow made them make sense, when he could not. How he wished… Sighing, he lifted his face and looked once more out of his window and the starry sky. He smiled as he remembered the time she had told him when she was a child, she had bet herself that she could wish on every star out there, but she had never quite managed it. She had blushed then, to quite a rosy colour, but it was hardly the time to giggle.

_Fate is kind_

_She brings to those to love_

Maybe he could help her along the way with wishing on every star. If that was what it took to make her happy, then he would wish every night on every star he could find. What he wished, well, that he could not and would not tell her, but he would wish for the courage to tell her, and he would wish that either she could tell him that she felt the same or would take it easily and not make it affect their relationship now. How he wished that it would be the former, that she could perhaps find it in herself to love him, though he would never force her.

Raising his head once more, he looked up at the sky and chose a star. He did not care what constellation it was from, he chose the first one his eyes landed on, and focussed his gaze and his concentration on that one tiny pinprick of light. He willed his mind to see only the star, and the wish he wanted it to grant. Rather than say it, he created a picture in his mind of what he hoped would happen. Minerva approached him, slid into his arms and kissed him easily and lovingly. He held this in his mind, trying not to be distracted by it, before sending it up to the star.

In the back of his mind, he knew what he was doing was ridiculous. He knew stars were just a cloud of gases far away in a distant galaxy and they did not grant wishes, but it didn't matter. It was just a bit of silliness that didn't hurt anyone, one that he could indulge in without being judged because no one could possibly find out unless he told them. After a few seconds, he sighed and pushed the image he had created in his mind away, feeling a warm hue beginning to gather in his cheeks. He had no right to imagine things like that. Another sigh escaped him, hoping whoever was up there somewhere was not watching him at this moment, before he turned around to face his office once more.

_The sweet fulfilment of_

_Their secret longing_

Albus nearly jumped out of his skin. There was someone standing in the middle of his office. A very beautiful someone. He blinked, shook his head, and then blinked again. She was still there, gazing at him with a strange look on her face, shadows from the vague embers of the fire flickering over her face with tenderness. So he wasn't dreaming. He swallowed and went to sit in the chair behind his desk, leaving her standing in the middle of the room. He felt her eyes follow him to his seat, and he wondered what she was doing here. It wasn't like her not to let him know she was coming, and he was sure she hadn't told him earlier.

"Well, Minerva, if you came here to startle me, you have certainly done so." He laughed, motioning towards the chair in front of his desk, hurriedly covering the longing in his eyes that hopefully, she had not seen when he had turned. She smiled back and sat down as well, looking a little startled for some reason and apprehensive. "What can I do for you my dear?" He asked cheerfully, wondering why she was so quiet and subdued. She seemed unprepared for the question and looked down at her lap, folding her hands together. This was most unlike Minerva; she was normally so precise.

"Well Albus, I err… I don't really know why I'm here. I just felt I needed to be here. It sounds so stupid now, but I felt as though I had been called. I had to see you." Minerva declared, tilting her head up as if daring him to laugh at her. It was as she did this he caught sight of the four-pointed star hanging on a small chain around her neck. It glinted in the light from his fire and the buttresses on his walls. He recognised it, he had given it to her as a birthday present after their talk on stars. He had the inclination she wore it often, for the chain it hung on was somewhat worn. The sight gave him courage.

_Like a bolt out of the blue_

_Fate steps in and sees you through_

"I was thinking about you." He admitted, standing and going to sit beside her, his eyes wavering over hers, unsure what was happening as he sensed the atmosphere in the room change to something he did not recognise. She looked across at him, her eyes confused and very dark green from what he could tell in the wavering light. Clearly she had no idea what was happening either. The air around them seemed to be heavy and silent, even the crackling of the fire had muted to a low whisper. He watched her look around, obviously thinking the same thing he was. Then she stood up suddenly, surprising him, and went to the window with a hand raised to her forehead.

"I was thinking about you too." She blurted out but before he could reply, she continued, looking over her shoulder at him. "Do you think that for every person in the universe, there is just one other person with whom that person can be completely happy?" Minerva hurried the question before turning away again, towards the window. Albus was confused. To him, her two sentences had not had any connection, and her body language was very strange. It was as if she was holding herself back from something. Albus stood also and went to stand beside her, looking out at the stars that he could see reflected in her eyes.

"I believe that is true for some people. I know there is only one person on this earth with whom I could be happy, and that person is completely unaware of it." Even he could hear the very wistful tinge to his voice as he said that, and he half-winced, wondering what on Merlin's earth was wrong with him tonight. His eyes glittered briefly towards her, which she saw and smiled, hugging her arms around herself. He tipped his head towards her and his eyes rested on her face lightly, caressing it without a single touch but she still felt it.

_When you wish upon a star_

_Your dreams come true_

"Perhaps she is not as unaware as you think." Minerva whispered, her eyes never leaving the window and another, wider smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Albus blinked again, and turned fully towards her, wonder and a little confusion hovering in his eyes. Her eyes still did not falter from the window, though he knew she was aware of his attention on her, and he breathed her name in a hopeful whisper that made her shiver with delight.

"Minerva…" Finally, she withdrew her eyes from a far-off point in the heavens and focussed them slowly on his face, a knowing glint he knew all too well in her eyes. He opened his arms, and she slid easily into them, inclining her head back a little to look up into his face, her breath tickling the sensitive skin under his beard and her scent flowing in and around his nostrils. "You know I…" He began, a little apprehensive that he was misreading what was hopefully going to turn into the happiest moment of his life.

She put a hand over his mouth, tapped a finger against his nose and leant forward, stretching up on her tiptoes to push her lips against his gently, questing for a reaction. And a reaction she received! He immediately scooped her up in his arms and returned the kiss with every feeling he possessed for her. His eyes flicked around briefly before closing, and they found his star in the window before lowering to rest on the star in his arms.

"Thank you." He murmured, brushing a hand down her cheek and pressing his lips more firmly to hers.


End file.
